Convertible garment

ABSTRACT

A CONVERTIBLE CHILD&#39;&#39;S GARMENT HAVING A BODY PORTION AND TWO SEPARATE LEG PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM THE BODY PORTION. A DETACHABLE PANEL MEMBER IS ATTACHED TO AND EXTENDS UP THE INNER SIDE OF ONE LEG PORTION TO THE CROTCH AREA OF THE GARMENT AND DOWN THE INNER SIDE OF THE OTHER LEG PORTION. THE PANEL IS ATTACHED BY FASTENING MEANS WHICH PERMIT THE GARMENT, WITH THE ATTACHED PANELS, TO   FORM SEPARATE LEG ENCLOSURES, AND WITH THE PANEL REMOVED, TO FORM A SINGLE LEG ENCLOSURE.

Jan. 19, 1971 v. OWEN 1 3,555,567

CONVERTIBLE GARMENT Filed June 9, 1969 V 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN'I'UR Victor OWEN A TTORNEY Jan. 19,1971 VQOWEN 3,555,567

CONVERTIBLE GARMENT Filed June 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 min lIVVl'l/VTUR Victor OWEN United States Patent O 3,555,567 CONVERTIBLE GARMENT Victor Owen, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, assignor to Melvin Winer, Teaneck, NJ. Filed June 9, 1969, Ser. No. 831,538 Claims priority, application Canada, Dec. 12, 1968,

37,698 Int. Cl. A41b 13/06; A41d 11/06 U.S. Cl. 2-69.5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the invention This invention relates to an improved convertible garment for infants and small children, and more particularly to a garment which is convertible from an infants sack or bunting to a small childs snow suit having separate leg enclosures.

(2) Description of the prior art Convertible garments of this type are already known wherein, when in the form of a snow suit, the leg enclosures have a closure means extending up along the inner side of each leg portion to the crotch area of the garment. These closure means permit the garment to be formed either as a snow suit with two separate leg enclosures, with the side edges of each leg portion joined to each other by its closure means, or as an infants sack or bunting with the front edges of each leg portion connected together by a portion of the closure means on each leg portion and the back edges of each leg portion connected together by the other portion of the closure means on each leg portion so as to form a single enclosure for both legs of the infant when wearing the garment. A garment of this type is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,738,512, issued Mar. 20, 1956, M. Winer, inventor.

It is also known to use a specific type of closure means in such convertible garments whereby a single closure means extends continuously up along the inner side of one leg portion to the crotch area and down the inner side of the other leg portion. The single closure means is constructed to permit the garment to be formed either with separate leg portions or with a single leg enclosure portion. A garment having this specific type of closure means is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,915,758, issued Dec. 8, 1959, Jerome S. Kaufman, inventor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Applicants invention relates to an improvement for convertible garments of the type shown in U.S. Pat. 2,738,512, wherein an elongated panel is used to form part of both leg enclosures and is detachably connected thereto. The detachable panel is not required when the child is an infant, and the garment is used as a sack or bunting. At this stage, the child is usually fed from a bottle and the detached panel can be used to form a bottle carrier and warmer in order to take the bottle along with the infant when taking him out dressed in the bunting. The garment, without the panel, is much neater in appearance 3,555,567 Patented Jan. 19, 1971 and less bulky in the lower and leg enclosing portions of bunting while still providing the necessary freedom of movement for the infants legs within the garment when it is being worn. As the infant grows and begins to Walk, the garment can be converted into a snow suit having separate leg enclosures by connecting the panel into the garment adjacent the inner leg portions. The panel adds extra material to the garment providing added fullness in the leg enclosures which is normally required since the child has grown.

The invention is particularly directed toward a convertible infants garment including a body enclosing portion, and two leg portions extending from the body portion. A single elongated detachable panel member is attached to and extends up the inner side of one of said leg portions to the crotch area of the garment and down the inner side of the other leg portion. The leg portions, with the panel connected to them, form a separate leg enclosure for each leg of the infant when wearing the garment, and when the panel is detached from the leg portions, they can be joined together to form a single enclosure for both legs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in more detail having reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the garment, when converted into a snow suit having separate leg enclosures;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the garment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detail view of the leg enclosures of the garment in FIG. 1 in a partially open position showing the detachable panel associated with the leg portions partially removed;

FIG. 4 is a detail rear view of the leg portions of the garment with the panel removed showing them partly connected in converting the garment to a bunting;

FIG. 5 is a detail rear view of the leg portions of the garment when the garment has been converted to a bunt- FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the detached panel showing how it is formed into a carrying bag; and

FIG. 7 is a detail view of the fasteners and their arrangement used to connect the detachable panel to the leg portions of the garment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the garment 1 converted to a small childs snow suit with separate leg enclosures 3, 5 connected to the body portion 7 and depending therefrom. The garment 1 includes sleeves 9 11 connected to the upper part of the body portion 7 and may include a hood 13 connected to the back of the top edge 15 of the body portion 7 to cover the head of the child when wearing the garment.

Means are provided on the front of the garment to open it up to permit the garment. to be easily donned by the child. This can comprise a :single zipper or button closure extending downwardly on the front of the garment from the top edge 15 to the crotch area 17. Preferably, the means for opening up the garment comprises an elongate front panel 19 extending up the front of the garment to the top edge 15 from the upper portion of the leg enclosures 3, 5 and which is detachably joined at its side edges 21 to the side edges 23 of the remainder of the garment by closure means 25. When the closure means 25 are opened, the panel 19 can be pulled down and away from the body portion thus leaving a large front opening in the garment to permit the easy entry of the child into the garment. The front panel opening is particularly useful when the garment is converted to an infants bunting since it is usual to place the opened garment in a horizontal position on a bed or table and lay the infant on the garment and then close the garment. The large front opening facilitates laying the infant in the opened garment. The closure means 25 joining the panel to the remainder of the garment preferably extend down to adjacent the knee areas in the leg enclosures 3, 5 of the garment. The closure means preferably comprise flexible slide fasteners although buttons, snap fasteners or equivalent closure means can also be used. If desired, the closure means may be extended to the bottom of the leg portions thus providing a removable bifurcated front panel 19 as shown in Winers US. Patent No. 2,738,512.

The covertible garment 1 is provided with a detachable panel 27 connected to the inner side of leg portions 29, 31 of the garment to form with the leg portions, the leg enclosures 3, 5. The panel 27 extends up the length of the inner side of one leg portion 29 to the crotch area 17 of the garment and down the inner side of the other leg portion 31. The elongated panel 27 is detachably connected to the front and back edges 33, 35 of leg portion 29 and the front and back edges 37, 39 of leg portion 31 along its longitudinal side edges 41, 43 by closure means 49, 51 to form the separate leg enclosures 3, 5. The closure means 49, 51 preferably comprise two flexible slide fastener assemblies. As shown in FIG. 7, the first slide fastener assembly 49 includes a first slide fastener stringer or tape 53 attached to the front edges 33, 37 or both the leg portions 29, 31 with the stringer extending in a continuous manner from the bottom of the front edge 33 of the one leg portion 29 up and through the crotch area 17 and down the front edge 37 of the other leg portion 31 to its bottom edge. The stringer 53 has a pin connector 55 at one end on leg portion 29 and a stop 57 at the other end on leg portion 31. The second mating stringer 59 for the first stringer 53 is attached to one elongated edge 41 of the panel 27 with the pin 61 on the stringer 59 on the panel located opposite the stop 57 on the first stringer 53 attached to the leg portions and the stop 62 on the panel stringer 59 located opposite the pin 55 of the first stringer. The second slide fastener assembly 51 is identical to the first fastener assembly 49 to connect the other elongated side edge 43- of the removable panel 27, to the back edges 35, 39 of each of the leg portions 29, 31 and extending continuously through the crotch area of the garment with the exception that the positions of the pins and stops on the third and fourth stringers 63, 65 forming the second slide fastener are reversed from those on the first slide fastener. Thus, the panel has the pin 67 at the end of the panel opposite the end of the stop 62 of the stringer 59 and the stop 69 of stringer 63 is at the same end of the panel as pin 61. The mating third stringer 65 of the second slide fastener assembly is connected to the front edges 33, 37 of the leg portions 29, 31 so that pin 71 is on leg portion 31 and stop 73 is on leg portion 29.

Each of the four slide fastener stringers or tapes 53', 59 and 63, 65 have a series of spaced, interlockable symmetrical fastener elements. Thus the slide fastener assemblies are of the two way type. Preferably, the slide fastener assemblies are made of nylon to provide added flexibility. Nylon also has an advantage over metallic slide fasteners in that it is better adapted for washing of the garment and will not rust as might happen using metallic material and also will not chafe a childs skin as much as metallic slide fasteners. Sliders 75, 77, 79 and 81 are provided on each tape 53', 59, 6'3 and 65 respectively.

To connect the panel 27 to the garment, the pin 61 on the longitudinal edge 41 of the panel 27 is connected through the slider 75 adjacent the stop 57 on the front edge 37 of leg portion 31, and the slider 75 is moved to a position adjacent stop 62 in front of slider 77 to connect the tapes 53, 59 together to attach the panel to the front leg edges 33, 37 as shown in :FIG. 1. Similarly, the other elongated edge 43, of the panel 27, is connected to the back edges 35, 39 of the leg portions as shown in FIG. 2 with the pin 67 on edge 43 connected through slider 81 on the garment and the said slider moved to adjacent slider 79 on the panel and adjacent stop 69 to connect the tapes 63, 65 together. The garment, formed as a snow suit with separate leg enclosures and with the panel member 27 attached is shown both in FIGS. 1 and 2.

To convert the garment from a snow suit to an infants sack or bunting, the panel member 27 is removed from the front and back edges of the leg portions. The front edge 33 of the leg portion 29 is then joined to the front edge 37 of the other leg portion 31 by inserting the pin 55 of the stringer 53 of the first slide fastener assembly 49 through slider 75 adjacent stop '57 on the opposite end of the stringer and moving the slider upwardly until it reaches the central portion of the stringer adjacent the crotch area 17 whereby both front edges .33, 37 are joined together as shown in FIG. 4. The back edges 35, 39 of the leg portions 29, 31 of the garment are similarly joined together using the stringer 65 of the slide fastener assembly 51 by bringing the pin 71 to a position adjacent the stop 73 on that stringer which is attached to the back edges and moving the slider 81 to a central portion of the stringer adjacent crotch area 17 thus joining both back edges together as shown in FIG. 5.

The detached panel member 27 may be used to form an elongated sack 83 which can be used as a bottle warmer or for carrying other infant articles by folding the panel to bring the ends adjacent each other. The pin 67 on the stringer 63 attached to longitudinal edge 43 is connected to the slider 79 adjacent the stop 69 on the same stringer and the slider is then moved until it is centrally located on the panel to join the elongated edge 43 to itself as shown in FIG. 6. Similarly, the other edge 41 is joined to itself by locating pin 61 on stringer 59 adjacent stop 62 and moving slider 77 to a central location on the panel to form the elongated sack 83 as shown in FIG. 6. The sack formed is approximately the size to receive a baby bottle in order to keep it warm when taking the infant on a trip or can be used to carry other articles used in caring for an infant. A carrying handle 85 can be attached adjacent one corner of the panel.

The leg portions of the garment, when joined to form a bunting or sack to provide a single enclosure for both legs can be closed at the bottom by in-folding the lower edge 89 and connecting snap fasteners 91 on the interior of the leg portions adjacent the lower edge 89 to snap fasteners 95 on the interior of the leg portions, spaced from the lower edge, thus closing the open bottom. Alternatively, the open bottom could be closed with a simple draw string arrangement.

Elastic cuffs 97 can be provided on the ends of the leg enclosures and arm portions to provide a tighter fit. The slide fastener assemblies 49, 51 extend through the elastic cuffs on the leg enclosures to the edges as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

While slide fastener assemblies 49, 51 are shown to detachably connect the panel member 27 to the leg portions 29, 31, other closure means such as snap fasteners or buttons may be used.

The garment 1 may be constructed in any well-konwn manner. By way of example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it can comprise a back panel A, identical sleeve panels B, C, a front panel D and elongated side panels E, F. Each sleeve panel is joined along a seam 101 to form the tubular sleeve portions 9, 11. The side panels are connected together at the back by a seam 103 extending from the Waist portion of the garment to the crotch area 17. The back panel A is attached to the side panels at the waist portion of the garment along a horizontal seam 105 and along its side edges at side seams 107, 109 extending a short distance above 'the waist portion. The sleeve portions -9, 11 are attached to the upper side edges of both the back panel A and the side panels E, F along seams 111, 113. The front panel D is attached at a lower portion, along its side edges below the closure means 25 to the lower front side edges of the side panels E, F along seams 115, 117.

While one manner of constructing the basic shell of the garment has been shown, other constructions could also be used.

The garment may have a gathered elastic waist as shown comprising an elastic thread or tape threaded through the waist portion of the garment and serving to gather or pinch in the body portion.

Detachable boots 119 are preferably included with the 'garment. The boots 119 can be connected to the bottom of leg enclosures 3, 5 with cooperating snap fasteners 121, 123 on the lower sides of the leg enclosures and snap fasteners 125, 127 on the lower inner sides of the boots as shown in FIG. 1.

I claim 1. A convertible infants garment including a body enclosing portion, two leg portions extending from the body portion and being continuously slit from the bottom of one leg portion along the inner side thereof, through the crotch area and along the inner side of the other leg portion to the bottom thereof, each leg portion having front and rear side edges defining a portion of the continuous silt, a single, detachable, panel member extending up the slotted inner side of the one leg portion to the crotch area of the garment and down the slotted inner side of the other leg portion, means detachably connecting one side edge of said panel to the front side edge of each leg portion, and means detachably connecting the other side edge of said panel to the back side edge of each leg portion to form two separate leg enclosures on said garment, a portion of said connecting means being located on said leg portions and being adaptable, when the panel is detached from the front and back edges of the leg portions, to permit connection of the front edges of said leg portions to each other and to permit connection of the back side edge of the leg portions to each other to form a single enclosure whereby said garment can be employed as an infants bag.

2. A convertible infants garment as claimed in claim 1, including a front panel forming part of the garment, said front panel being attached to and extending from at least the knee area of said leg portions to a top edge of the body portion, and means detachably connecting side edges of the front panel to the garment.

3. A convertible infants garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting means comprises first and second reversible slide fastener assemblies.

4. A convertible infants garment as claimed in claim 3, wherein said first slide fastener assembly includes a first continuous stringer connected to the front edge of each leg portion and the crotch area of the garment, the second stringer connected to one elongate side edge of the detachable panel; the second slide fastener assembly including a third continuous stringer connected to the back edge of each leg portion and the crotch area of the garment, the fourth stringer connected to the other elongate side edge of the detachable panel.

5. A convertible infants garment as claimed in claim 4 including a slider on each of the four stringers.

6. A convertible infants garment as claimed in claim 4, wherein each stringer has a pin at one end and a stop at the other end, the pin on the first stringer located adjacent the stop on the second stringer when the one elongate side edge of the panel is connected to the front edges of the leg portions by one of said sliders; the pin on the third stringer located adjacent the stop on the fourth stringer when the other side edge of the panel is connected to the back edges of the leg portions by a second of said sliders; and the stop on the second stringer located at the same end of the panel as the pin on the fourth stringer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,622,248 12/1952 Schaye 2-80 2,738,512 3/1956 Winer 2-80 2,915,758 12/1959 Kaufman 269.5

H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2-80 

